Folding oxygen hood



Jan. 1, 1963 w. G. FATE FOLDING-OXYGEN 1-1001) Filed July 14, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 PRESSURE RELEASE MEANS Inventor WILLIAM a. PA TE 6 WWW Jan. 1, 1963 w. a. PATE 3,071,134

FOLDING OXYGEN noon Filed July 14, 1959 2 Sheds-Sheet 2 FIG. 5

. Inventor WILL/AM G. PATE hired Patented Jan. I, 1963 3,071,134 FOLDHIG @XYGEN H905.) William Godfrey Pate, RR. 1, King, Untario, tianada Fiied duly 1d, 195%, Ser. No. 8273918 6 Claims. (Ci. 128--142) This application is for a folding oxygen hood or tent and method of folding same.

The necessity for an oxygen mask or hood which can be quickly applied to a subject has become acute due to the introduction of high flying air-craft. In modern passenger air-craft flying above 24,000 feet where the passenger cabin is pressurized, it is necessary to provide emergency equipment in case of a sudden depressurization. Above 24,000 feet, a sudden depressurization with the resultant lack of oxygen, tends to cause muscular contractions within a period of from to seconds of the depressurization and complete unconsciousness within about 30 seconds. Thus it is necessary that a means of supplying oxygen quickly and eifectively be provided. It is also important that the oxygen supply should be easy to operate as it may be required to be applied by unskilled operators.

Some air-craft have been provided with a system in which, upon depressurization of the cabin, oxygen masks are lowered from the ceiling of the air-craft cabin directly in front of each passenger within easy grasping distance. However, the conventional oxygen mask is not easily applied to the face, particularly when it is remembered that upon depressurization, even if the mask is lowered immediately, the passenger has to take hold of it and position it correctly over the mouth and nose within 5 to 10 seconds, because once muscular contractions start to occur, it is exceedingly ditficult to hold the mask properly in contact with the face and unconsciousness is quite likely to occur. This is particularly true when it is borne in mind that persons attempting to apply the oxygen masks will probably be doing so for the first time and will be under considerable excitement or emotional stress due to the shock of the decompression.

Thus, it is an object of the invention to provide a folding oxygen hood which may be compactly stored and quickly readied to an in-use position.

It is further among the objects of this invention to provide an oxygen hood which is easy and simple for unskilled persons to don.

It will be appreciated that although as stated above, the invention has been developed with one particular application in mind, it is equally applicable to numerous other situations where a compact, easily stowed and quickly accessible oxygen hood may be required, as, for example, in hospitals, emergency oxygen breathing apparatus, etc.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description in conjunction with the drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 shows a perspective view of the oxygen hood of the invention in the in-use position,

FIGURE 2 shows an enlarged view of the oxygen hood stowed in its ready-to-use position,

FIGURE 3 shows the first stage of the folding of the base of the oxygen hood of the invention,

FIGURE 4 shows the second stage of the folding of the base of the oxygen hood of the invention.

FIGURE 5 shows the third stage of the folding of the base of the oxygen hood of the invention.

Referring now to the drawings and particularly to FIG- URE 1, there is shown generally an oxygen hood 10 of the invention. The oxygen hood It is made up of a thin, clear, flexible plastic bag 11. The bag 11 is preferably formed from a cylindrical tube of plastic material thus obviating the necessity for a joint in the side. However,

such a form and construction is not essential. The base 12 of cylindrical bag 11 is provided with a flexible circular wire spring 13. As will become apparent as the description proceeds it is important that wire spring 13 is possessed of natural resilience. By way of example, wire spring member 13 may be formed of five strands of number 16 piano wire. These strands are loosely twisted together in a normal manner and secured .in any convenient way. Spring member 13 must be capable of being twisted and of recovering the position shown in FIGURE 1 without undue deformation.

The upper end 14 of cylindrical bag 11 is closed and joined to the centre by any convenient means, such as thermo sealing of the plastic. An oxygen inlet tube 15 passes through sealing means 16 disposed in the top 14- of cylindrical bag 11 and i attached to oxygen outlet means 17. Oxygen outlet means 17 is preferably in the form of a spherical shell provided with a plurality of holes.

In order to use the oxygen hood of the invention, the spring member 13 defining the lower end of the oxygen hood is drawn over the head down towards the shoulders. The head is then completely encompassed in the bag. Oxygen supplied through tube 15 is dispersed through distributor means 17. It will be noted that because of the plurality of outlets 18 in member 17, it is not possible to draw the bag down over the head to aposition which would effectively cut off the oxygen supply as might be the case if there were a single oxygen outlet point.

Although the dimensions of the oxygen hood may be varied according to specific use, it has been found that a convenient size is to use a plastic bag of approximately 36" circumference giving the spring member 13 an approximate diameter of 11.5. The depth of bag 11 may be approximately 16" so that wire 13 may be drawn right down to the shoulders.

The oxygen hood of the invention when not in use may be stored in the manner shown in FIGURE 2 which is on an enlarged scale of FIGURE 1. In order to accomplish the easy stowage of the oxygen hood, the wire base member 13 i folded in the manner shown in FIGURES 3 to 5. In these figures, for the sake of clarity, the wire only has been illustrated but in actual practice the oxygen hood would be attached to the wire and would fold with it.

In order to fold the base member 13, it is laid flat. For the sake of clarity, four equally spaced points on the base member denoted as A, B, C, and D are shown in the various stages of folding. Stage 1 is to fold point A over towards point C. From this position point A is moved towards point B forming a loop in the wire, see FIGURE 4. The remainder of the wire will begin to loop as shown in FIGURE 4. Point D is then taken and pressed downwardly over the loop formed containing point A as shown in FIGURE 5.

It will be noted, than when folded in this manner spring member 13 will readily spring back into its normal undeformed position. Thus, when the hood is attached to the spring, the spring on being released will snap open and hold the lower end of the hood in the ready-to-use position. The folding of the spring member as described reduces the diameter of the folded hood to approximately 4- thus permitting the oxygen hood to be stored in a very small space as shown in FIGURE 2. In folding the hood it is convenient to lay the hood out flat to one side of the spring member in a direction away from point A described in the folding operation. In one particular use of the hood, that is, as an emergency oxygen supply in air-craft, the hood 10 may be stored in its folded position in a container 19. Container 19 may be provided with closure means 29 in the form of a hinged base, normally retained closed by retaining means 21.. Container 19 can be placed in the ceiling of the air-craft above each seat and in the ceiling of the passages of the air-craft where desired. Upon depressurization, a convention pressure release means (not shown in detail) serves to operate release means 21. Container 19 is thus opened and the oxygen hood of the invention is released. During the descent of the oxygen hood, the spring wire member 13 will snap back into its undeformed position, thus readying the hood for use. Conveniently, the oxygen supply line 15 is arranged to be of a length so that the hood will drop to a position just ahead of a seated passenger with the bottom of the hood at approximately shoulder level. The passenger may then take hold of the hood by the bottom of the wire spring means and draw it rapidly over the head. In this manner the hood is both stored in a compact space and can be readied for use in a very short time whilst remaining exceedingly simple for persons unaccustomed to its use to don.

It will be appreciated that variations and modifications may be made within the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A foldable oxygen hood comprising in combination: a collapsible bag member of generally tubular construction closed at one end and open at the other end to accommodate the head at least of a wearer; oxygen supply means communicating with the interior of said bag member; and spreader means associated integrally with said bag member and comprising a normally ring-like member of resilient wire material, said ring member being deformable into at least two coils of reduced diameter in relation to that of said ring member, said coils being inherently biased to recover said normal ring-like conforrnation.

2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said bag member is formed of thin flexible transparent plastic material.

3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said oxygen supply means includes a distributor of substantially hollow construction having a plurality of discharge ports communicating with the interior thereof, said ports being directed outwardly from the centre of said distributor in divergent paths.

4. A foldable oxygen hood comprising in combination: a collapsible bag member of substantially tubular construction closed at one end and open at the other end to accommodate the head at least of a wearer, said bag member being formed of thin flexible transparent plastic material; an oxygen distributor located on said one end in the interior of said bag member and communicating with a source of oxygen exteriorly of said bag member, said distributor being of substantially hollow construction and having a plurality of discharge ports communicating with the interior thereof, said ports being directed outwardly from the centre of said distributor in divergent paths; and a ring-like spreader associated integrally with said bag member and extending peripherally about said s other end of said bag member, said spreader being formed of resilient material biassed to adopt a normally ring shaped conformation spreading said other end open, and being deformable into at least two coils of reduced diameter in relation to that of said spreader and inherently biassed to recover said ring-like conformation.

5. A foldable oxygen hood comprising in combination: a collapsible bag member of generally tubular construction closed at one end and open at the other end to accommodate the head at least of a wearer, said bag member being formed of thin flexible transparent plastic material; an oxygen distributor located on said one end in the interior of said bag member and communicating with a source of ox gen exteriorly of said bag member, said distributor being of substantially hollow construction and having a plurality of discharge ports communicating with the interior thereof, said ports being directed outwardly from the centre of said distributor in divergent paths; means suspending said bag member in space with said open end directed downwardly; and a ring-like spreader associated integrally with said bag member and extending peripherally about said other end of said bag member, said spreader being formed of resilient material biassed to adopt a normally ring shaped conformation spreading said other end open, and being deformable into at least two coils of reduced diameter in relation to that of said spreader and inherently biassed to recover said ring-like conformation, and being of sufficient mass to draw bag member downwardly Weighting and extending the same in space.

6. A foldable oxygen hood comprising in combination: a collapsible bag member of generally tubular construction closed at one end and open at the other end to accommodate the head at least of .a wearer; oxygen supply means communicating with the interior of said bag member, means suspending said bag member in space with said open end directed downwardly; and spreader means associated integrally with said bag member and comprising a normally ring-like member of resilient wire material, said ring member being deformable into at least two coils of reduced diameter in relation to that of said ring member, said coils being in inherently biassed to recover said normal ring-like conformation and being of sufficient mass to draw said bag member downwardly weighting and extending the same in space.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 536,299 Schneckloth Mar. 26, 1895 1,262,566 Rhodes Apr. 9, 1918 2,931,355 Miller Apr. 5, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 28,746 Great Britain 1909 442,767 Italy Nov. 30, 1948 154,988 Austria Nov. 10, 19.38 

1. A FOLDABLE OXYGEN HOOD COMPRISING IN COMBINATION: A COLLAPSIBLE BAG MEMBER OF GENERALLY TUBULAR CONSTRUCTION CLOSED AT ONE END AND OPEN AT THE OTHER END TO ACCOMMODATE THE HEAD AT LEAST OF A WEARER; OXYGEN SUPPLY MEANS COMMUNICATING WITH THE INTERIOR OF SAID BAG MEMBER; AND SPREADER MEANS ASSOCIATED INTEGRALLY WITH SAID BAG MEMBER AND COMPRISING A NORMALLY RING-LIKE MEMBER OF RESILIENT WIRE MATERIAL SAID RING MEMBER BEING DE- 